Yay - First Clipless Fall

rinko

Well - it had to happen ... and I was doing so well.

Coming to the end of my 4th full week commuting in all conditions, and only this morning thinking ... "hrrm I wonder what all that clipless fuss was about".

Was enjoying quite a speedy run in this morning ... only light winds and the legs were feeling good. Pummeled past a a guy on a mtb going up a hill and forged onwards towards the stream of stationary traffic which marks the boundary of "town".

Safely filtering up the inside, make eye contact with a van waiting to turn between the cars, he waits, I thank him ... onwards ... pass one set of lights as they go green, towards a crossing.

Spot two people waiting on the opposite side, and the lights go yellow - nope, too far away - have to stop. Unclip my left foot and aim for the curb, but with my weight on my right leg. Bobble down into a depressed grid (well you would be too if you spent all day getting wet or driven over), which throws me and my backpack right ... "oh bugger" (cue furious effort to wrench foot sideways).

Managed to get unclipped as I hit the ground/the skoda behind me. Both the driver of the Skoda (who I apologised to - thankfully no damage) and to my suprise the two young lads who crossed the road, asked if I was okay and then pointed out my cycle computer which had detached itself.

I said I was fine (just a slight knee graze, not even any manly blood) and thanked them for asking ... dusted myself off and cracked onwards with a sense of "well at least I have got that over with" and "how nice, not all youngsters are little gits".

Looking forward to the weekend ride and hopefully picking up some aero bars!

Am I a proper cyclist now?

ETA - Only damage to bike is a scuffed endplug and a tiny chip on the hood.

PinkPedal

Welcome to the Clipless Moment Club

Kieran_Burns

Congratulations on losing your clipless cherry. You'll never be the same again


(I almost had another moment this morning when I completely forgot I was clipped in at the start of the bridleway... cue frantic and thankfully successfull wrenching of both feet. I almost managed a full on track stand while spinning the feet and avoiding the nettle patch)

biondino

I almost had one yesterday, weaving my way round a scooter in our parking garage at work, lost balance and realised my right foot wasn't going to be able to take it, tried to pull my left foot off the pedal (unclip you idiot!), failed, shifted weight wildly, cracked my right shin on something, then remembered to unclip. Didn't fall over, but I'll have a new scar.

lost_in_thought

I'm glad the yoofs were nice. Many of them are!

I keep having the opposite issue - pulling my foot out whilst accelerating.

Seriously, self, tighten up your clips. FFS. This has been going on for months.

il_principe

lost_in_thought wrote:

I keep having the opposite issue - pulling my foot out whilst accelerating.

Seriously, self, tighten up your clips. FFS. This has been going on for months.

I keep doing this as well. nearly had disastrous consequences on a few occasions, and reminds me why I heart my speedplays. Really don't like SPD's but need them for commuting.

lost_in_thought

Il Principe wrote:

lost_in_thought wrote:

I keep having the opposite issue - pulling my foot out whilst accelerating.

Seriously, self, tighten up your clips. FFS. This has been going on for months.

I keep doing this as well. nearly had disastrous consequences on a few occasions, and reminds me why I heart my speedplays. Really don't like SPD's but need them for commuting.

Yeah, I don't think speedplays are viable commuting pedals, unfortunately. The cleats are too ducky for walking, and I still find that they can take a few tries to clip in.

Once you're on the bike with them properly engaged, though, they're excellent.

It can be quite exciting, but I find that as I'm riding fixed I can do a dead cool re-clip as the pedal comes up to meet my foot.

Roastie

lost_in_thought wrote:

I keep having the opposite issue - pulling my foot out whilst accelerating.

Reminds me of a salesman at me ex-LBS.

I've popped in to pick up a pair of pedals, and given that the basic Keo classic looked "good enough", I asked him why I might want to pay the extra £20 or so for the Sprint model. His answer was, "The Sprint has a higher spring tension, it is for the powerful rider."

Of course, this was a shameless exploitation of the male ego (especially with wife present) - the implication being that buying the Classic after that advice would be an open admission of being a complete wimp!

So, explaining that I have always fancied myself as a whippet climber rather than a frame twisting sprinter, I wouldn't expect this would be a problem. His face fell as (what I guessed was) his sure fire sales line backfired.

The reality? (Unsurprisingly) On the default spring tension I have had no problems at all.

Roastie

Il Principe wrote:

Really don't like SPD's but need them for commuting.

Two words: Crank Bros.

tardington

Egg beaters? I must have a shot with them some time/

I have a lovely wobble today, but still not had a proper clipless moment with topple. So far.

Roastie

tardington wrote:

Egg beaters? I must have a shot with them some time/

Yep. I love my Eggbeaters to bits.

tardington wrote:

I have a lovely wobble today, but still not had a proper clipless moment with topple. So far.

I hope you gently caressed a block of wood as you typed that!